Including salt to espresso may be our new favorite morning hack

Past simply chopping bitterness, including salt also can amplify the candy and savoury points of espresso, bringing ahead refined flavours that may in any other case be overshadowed, provides Pallian. “This can result in a more complex and enjoyable taste experience, where the rich notes of the coffee are more pronounced.”

Does that in flip “improve” the standard of your cup of espresso, from a technical standpoint? Perhaps. “Your personal coffee enjoyment is highly individual, and will vary depending on the specific varietal of coffee, the roast, and the brewing method,” Perry says. “High-quality, fresh-roasted specialty coffee probably doesn’t need salt.” Actually, including salt might truly masks the spectrum of flavours your roaster has labored so arduous to include, she and her staff add.

Which kinds of espresso must you salt?

“Adding salt is beneficial for lower quality coffees like cheap robusta blends or instant coffees, as it can mask harsh flavours and reduce overwhelming bitterness,” says Morrisson. “Higher quality speciality coffees, particularly light or medium roasts, may not need salt and could even be negatively impacted by it.”

Actually, that may have one thing to do with why salt in espresso is extra well-liked in some locations than others. “The vast majority of coffee you’d taste in a café or from a speciality coffee roaster in the United States will be arabica, but robusta is popular in some countries like Vietnam,” Perry explains. “Generally, robusta is more bitter than arabica, which may explain why the idea of salting coffee is more common where robusta is served.”

Salt can be a pleasant complement to different flavours well-liked in some areas resulting from espresso generally being served with condensed milk or different candy substances, she provides.

How one can add salt to espresso

There are numerous recipes accessible on-line and particularly on TikTok, from the aforementioned sea salt espresso to the now-viral salted maple latte. Nevertheless, there are just a few floor guidelines to remember earlier than you start.

“If you do decide to experiment with salt, don’t overdo it; you don’t want to overpower the flavor notes or, worse, taste a salty cup of coffee,” says Perry. “Adding salt also won’t fix poor quality coffee, stale coffee, or errors in brewing.”

With that in thoughts, Pallian says that one of the best ways so as to add salt to your espresso is so as to add a small pinch on to the espresso grounds earlier than brewing. “This method allows the salt to evenly distribute throughout the coffee, reducing bitterness during the brewing process,” she says. “It integrates the salt into the coffee more naturally, leading to a smoother, more balanced flavour.”

Should you desire extra management over the ultimate style, you can even add salt into your brewed espresso. “It’s much easier to control dosage this way,” says Perry “You prepare the coffee first, assess its bitterness, and then start adding salt, increasing the amount until the perfect taste profile is achieved.

Finally, there’s the saline solution method. “Make a 20% salt solution (20% salt, 80% water) and add it directly to brewed coffee,” says Perry. “This method allows for more accurate and consistent dosing compared to trying to measure tiny amounts of dry salt. This is the method actually used by Baristas in coffee shops as it is easy to standardize the taste this way.”

Which types of salt to use

“Historically, sea salt is probably the most common type used, so that might be a good starting point for those who want to experiment,” says Perry. “You can also try kosher salt.”